


Dasher

by Raven052



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, M/M, coffee shop AU, dasher - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-09 02:50:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5522654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raven052/pseuds/Raven052
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A coffee shop at Christmas... <br/>A perfect setting for a perfect meeting. </p>
<p>A fluffy, sugary sweet kind of Christmas story. Yes, it's slashy, but in the most innocent ways possible. <br/>I hope you all enjoy it. <br/>Merry Christmas!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dasher

It was far too early in the morning for Christmas songs, and yet, Gerard was enduring them.   
Not only were they spilling out of the coffee shops sound system, also his co-worker was singing along to them.

And not quietly either. 

Gerard winced as Ava attempted a high note that was most definitely out of her range.  
"Ava!" Gerard's voice might have whined, but it also contained a laugh. "Take it down a notch, huh?"   
Instead, Ava moved closer, bumping her hip against Gerard's and grinning up at him as she finished the chorus.   
Gerard rolled his eyes, and tried to shove her back behind the coffee machine, which she was meant to be manning right now.   
"I'm only singing so loud because I'm having to make up for the fact you're not." She replied, with the tiniest shrug.   
"Ava..."   
"Don't you 'Ava' me in that tone Mr Way. I know you can sing, I've heard you. I'm only trying to encourage you!"  
Gerard smiled, slightly self consciously. "Thanks, Ava. But... No."  
Already though, Ava wasn't listening. She was looking up at the door.   
"Don't look now... But your favourite customer just walked in." 

Gerard frowned, not getting it at first. Then he looked up and immediately felt a blush creep into his cheeks. 

A young man, petite-ly built, but looking no less masculine for it, was making his way up to the counter. 

Gerard made a point to remember all their regular customers, but this one he knew without even having to try. 

He knew the dark, slightly long hair, and the equally dark, large eyes, the open face, which always broke into a smile as he reached the counter. Gerard wished he could take that as a sign, but he could tell this man offered smiles easily. 

In contrast, Gerard often found his smile harder to find with this man. Though his smile was also an easy one, he found it faltered with nerves. 

Or, perhaps he feared it would be obvious his smile was different for him. 

Yep. 

Gerard had a crush on him. 

A massive with. 

He knew the order, and had rung it up before the man asked. There was that smile.   
The money handed over and... This was off. The mans fingers lingered on Gerard's. Just a couple of seconds, but noticeable. 

Gerard looked up. 

The smile on the mans lips was not much different, but, still, Gerard felt himself grow hotter still. The. The moment passed, the fingers left, the gaze parted, and the man went to wait for his coffee, which Ava had almost finished for him already. 

He waved as he left, with a nod of thanks to Gerard. A wave and a smile in return, then as soon as the guy was out the door, Gerard sighed, audibly, not even caring that he was staring, very obviously at the door.   
Ava bumped her hip against his again, this time more gently.  
"He's your Dasher, isn't he?" She said, quietly.   
Gerard shook his head, part in answer, part to clear his head, stop him focusing on that customer (Frank. Frank. The name he always already had written on the cup without even asking.)   
He rolled his eyes, and grinned back at Ava. "No. He is not my 'Dasher'."   
Ava smiled, knowingly at him, then tugged on one of the blonde bits in Gerard's otherwise brown hair.   
"Okay." She said. 

This part should be explained. 

Neither one of these coffee shop workers actually want to stay in this job forever (some days they don't really want to stay until the end of the day), and often come up with ways that they could possibly escape. Some ideas are simple, others more elaborate and fanciful.   
Then, last Christmas, Ava stumbled across what seemed like the perfect escape.   
A reindeer would be able to fly her right on out of here, and off on adventures she had not yet imagined. And, for reasons Gerard had never managed to quite grasp, she had settled her attentions on the reindeer Dasher. 

The fixation has continued through the year, but amplified now it was, once again, Christmas.   
So, that's what she meant when she said that Frank was Gerard's 'Dasher'.

It meant he was the one Gerard hoped would get him away from here. It meant he 'loved' him.   
And, as much as Gerard protested. He knew, deep down. 

Frank was his Dasher. 

And the likelihood of them running off together was about as remote as a flying reindeer busting into the coffee shop and whisking Ava away... So it was a pretty appropriate comparison, all things considered. 

###

Nearing the end of what felt like a very long shift (they all feel long around this time of year, after all), and Gerard was performing the ever glamorous task of sweeping up the various debris from around and under the chairs and tables. 

He heard the door to the shop open, and out of habit, he looked up. 

And, as involuntary as ever, that very specific blush crept to his cheeks as he saw that, much to his surprise, standing, a little hesitantly, just in the doorway was that favourite customer. 

His Dasher. 

For a few too many seconds, Frank just stood there, looking oddly nervous.   
What was there to be nervous about coming into a coffee shop for? 

Gerard smiled as warmly as possible as he headed over to the counter.   
"Usual?" Gerard asked, already picking up the cup ready.   
Frank looked, momentarily, less nervous, perhaps made more comfortable again by the familiar pattern of talk and events. He smiled, immediately more warm than what Gerard was managing.   
"Yeah, please." He nodded.   
And now, as Gerard himself fell into the comfortable role of preparing the drink, he somehow found himself more chatty, more like he was with other customers. 

"Twice in one day? Must've been a hard one to need a second caffeine fix."  
He looked up, and found a similar blush on Franks cheeks as had been on his.   
Hands in pockets, eyes cast down to the floor, shuffle of his feet, and Frank mumbled something that Gerard couldn't hear.   
Okay, now really what was this role reversal? Usually he was the one blushing and unable to speak.   
"Sorry?" Gerard prompted, turning off the steamer on the coffee machine, pretending like the noise of it was the reason he'd been unable to hear.   
Frank pursed his lips briefly, then took in breath, before looking up and meeting Gerard's eyes. (Fuck. His eyes. Big, deep.) Gerard had to try extra hard to pay attention with that gaze exactly meeting his.   
"I said... The caffeine isn't the only fix I come in here for." 

Gerard blinked at him. 

A couple of times. 

As he tried to process this, his cheeks turned an ever brighter pink.   
"You. Erm. Sorry. What?"   
And now Frank laughed, a soft, warm laugh, a blush still on him, but he seemed less nervous now he'd said it.   
"Uhhh.... I guess, um, that was my incredibly cheesy way of saying I come in here not just for the coffee. But. To see you too."  
Again, Gerard just blinked at him.   
"I... Um..." He fumbled, both verbally and physically. Though with acquired skill, he managed not to drop Franks drink.   
Eyes closed tight now, and Gerard breathed deep before opening them again. When he did, he found Frank still there, still smiling at him.   
"Let me just... Are you saying... You like me too?"   
Franks eyebrows raised, a look of shock crossing his face. "Too? You mean...?"   
Gerard smiled, just a very small smile, suddenly enjoying their slightly fumbled way of getting to a truth that was likely obvious to so many other people.   
He nodded, and replied, softly. "Yeah. Yeah that's exactly what I mean." 

A few, quite, awkward yet pleasant seconds just smiling, blushing, glancing at one another then glancing away again. Finally broken by Frank gesturing towards the door. "Hey, so, uh, you wanna... Get outta here?"   
Gerard nodded. "Yeah, yeah I really would." Then he stopped, glanced around, reality rudely setting in. "I uh, I gotta finish closing up the store first but uh..." 

"That's okay." Frank said, smiling, the finally reaching to take his coffee. "I can wait."   
And he promptly took a seat, in perfect view of the counter so he could keep a sneaky eye on Gerard. 

Finally everything cleared, cleaned, switched off and put away, and Gerard came bounding over to Frank, blush and smile back in place, and proudly pronounced "Ready!"   
Frank nodded in agreement, rose from his seat and followed Gerard to the door.   
Keys out, and Gerard was double checking the security before letting them both out.

It was colder than Gerard had expected, even though it had been cold when he'd left the house that morning. He shivered, his fingers fumbling once again as he locked the door.   
Which meant that it was Frank that first saw the rather unusual sight, just outside the shop, on the road in front of them both.   
"Umm.... You know anything about this?"   
"Anything about wh-"  
Gerard stopped, blinked, staring at exactly the same spot as Frank.   
Both stunned, and, honestly, confused into wide eyed silence.   
There, standing in the middle of the road, was a reindeer. 

Yes, a reindeer. 

Not one like the ones you see in the zoos, or possibly cruelly tied up in a market stall or shopping mall. This reindeer was big, healthy looking, with a full rich coat.   
It had a deep red harness on, and beautiful, shiny silver bells strung on it, which made the sweetest sound with the reindeer's slightest movement.   
Also on the harness, was writing, thread in glittering gold.   
And, of course, the writing spelt out a name.   
"Dasher"   
"Does that say...?" Frank began.   
Gerard was smiling now.   
It was too perfect, wasn't it?   
"Yep."  
"But that can't be... I mean. Santa isn't- so his reindeer can't be-"   
"No." Gerard said. "No, of course not."   
But neither one of them could deny it, there was a certain magic to the moment, in the night.   
And perhaps, just perhaps, it was that little sprinkle of magic that caused them both to reach out to each other at exactly the same time, and take each other's hand. 

With that touch, they both looked away from the reindeer, and back at each other, blushes creeping on their cheeks again.   
"Where to?" Gerard asked.   
Frank grinned.   
"Oh. I got some plans."

 

They didn't look back as they walked away, so they didn't see the blue haired girl run up to the reindeer, hug it's neck and climb on its back. They didn't see the reindeer start to walk, then gallop, then suddenly take to the air.

And that is how a couple of seemingly impossible dreams came true, one December night.


End file.
